1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for printing merchandising information including programming labels, entering product and merchandising information and printing a label including merchandising information at the point of weighing or labelling. The merchandising information includes product information such as a special price, advertising information, and/or product information along with a coupon for a related item.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, labels for items purchased at a deli department or bakery department in a grocery store are printed at a weighing station. The labels are preprogrammed into a weighing scale and are printed on command. The labels contain a description of the item, weight, price per pound and UPC code.
Coupons are distributed in a variety of different ways including through newspapers, attached to items to be purchased, or generated at a checkout. Coupons printed in newspapers, magazines, or other related media must be clipped by the consumer, taken to a store and redeemed. The problem with this method is that there is little control over how many coupons are produced and no control as to when and where the coupons will be redeemed. Producing these types of coupons is also very expensive and lacks impact because they are unfocused from a merchandising point of view.
Coupons generated in-store at the point of sale (POS) require a separate printer interfaced to the POS system. The problem with this method is that coupons are generated after a customer has paid and therefore are only useable at the next time of purchase. This does not promote impulse purchases.